This School of Dentistry (SOD) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) application is in response to the NIDCR's RFA-OD-09-005 "Recovery Act Limited Competition: Supporting New Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Research Resources through Biomedical Research Core Centers (P-30)". This RFA is specifically designed to provide institutional awards through the Core Center Grants mechanism to provide "funding to hire, provide appropriate start-up packages, and develop pilot research projects for newly independent investigators, with the goal of augmenting and expanding the institution's community of multidisciplinary researchers" focusing on areas relevant to NIDCR's strategic mission " The UAB SOD is seeking support for the enhancement of our research intense faculty through our established "Biomedical Core Center"-The Institute of Oral Health Research (lOHR). This mechanism will allow the lOHR to hire, provide start-up packages, and develop pilot research projects for newly-independent investigators, with the goal of expanding multidisciplinary researchers within the SOD lOHR to establishing a UAB-wide supported pilot center "Center for Discoveries, Genomics and Therapeutics of Craniofacial and Dental Diseases (CDT-CADD). In particular, we will be seeking to enlarge our cadre of faculty within the area of dental and craniofacial developmental biology and genomic as relevant to NIDCR's strategic plan. The lOHR provides support and shared research resources for SOD and UAB faculty from diverse disciplines in order to establish a joint multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis, discovery of the underlying molecular causes and development of novel therapeutics for craniofacial diseases and syndromes. In order to achieve our goal, we will hire three new scientists/clinician-scientists with emerging expertise in developmental biology, genetics, proteomics, and/or gene therapy providing them a nurturing and supportive environment ensuring their successful career development. Research start-up resources for the new faculty will include salary support, needed specialized equipment, animal housing costs and materials and supplies for initiating their research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This RFA application will strengthen the UAB SOD's Institute of Oral Health Research through the expansion of our scientific capacity within the focus area of craniofacial developmental biology and genomics of dental diseases through increasing our faculty workforce.